New Xbox One TV Tools in the Works; DVR Control &amp; OneGuide Coming to SmartGlass

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As you all know one of the main focus points of the Xbox One is the TV element, and new tools are being pushed out to certain Xbox owners today that will expand the TV features across more platforms and tie them all together.

Xbox Smartglass is now capable of so much more, which was explained by Ben Smith from the Xbox TV team. Ben explained that a whole range of new features have been added to the SmartGlass which will make it easier for anyone around the world to navigate Xbox One experiences. With SmartGlass you can now:

Easily navigate game options so you can quickly get to the full list of Achievements, challenges, and game clips without jumping through multiple screens.

View recent players to find people you recently gamed with, easily add them as a friend, or issue a rematch challenge.

Sort the Friends list by online status for a quick view of what your friends are doing.

View your Activity Feed in a way that matches the view on your console

Launch an app in Snap from your mobile device, and when youâ€™re done, simply unsnap it.

Receive Xbox Live messaging alerts on your mobile device, making it easier to stay in touch with friends when youâ€™re on the go.

As you can see SmartGlass is now more of an extension of what you can see and do on the big screen which is really cool. As well as these new additions there are some extra features that as from today will be beta tested by Xbox One owners that have been invited to try out things like:

An enhanced TV watching experience (thatâ€™s already available in the U.S.), which sees TV listings added to OneGuide, alongside Favorites and App Channels. This will work for people in Europe and Canada who have their TV connected to Xbox One via HDMI-in.

More control over Xbox One, their TV, and set-top box, including setting new recordings and watching recorded content from their DVR, all from a tablet or smart phone. Xbox SmartGlass also adds a cool new feature to show the most recently-watched channels.

New Kinect voice commands in Europe and Canada (already available in the U.S.) which let you control your set-top box and other AV equipment.

Microsoft will be working with the feedback given from the beta testers and rolling out a polished version later on in the year for the rest of the Xbox community.